The Miami Hurricanes (0-0) will try to silence the non-football talk surrounding the program when they kick off the 2011 season in College Park against ACC rival Maryland (0-0).

The Terps will look to continue their 2010 success under first-year head coach Randy Edsall, who coached Connecticut to the Big East title last season.

The Canes are coming off a disappointing year in which they went 7-6, but are doing so having just ended one of the most scrutinized offseasons in recent memory.

In mid-August, Yahoo! Sports broke news about a massive scandal at Miami involving a convicted felon and a plethora of impermissible benefits.

Nevin Shapiro, a "renegade" Miami booster who was sentenced to prison for his involvement in a $930 million Ponzi scheme, admitted to providing thousands of illegal benefits to more than 70 players from 2002 to 2010.

The news even gave new life to the term "death penalty," which is the blunt definition of the NCAA's hardest punishment against offending programs.

Southern Methodist University was given the "death penalty" in the late 1980s and has just recently revived its football program, perhaps making NCAA officials hesitant to pull the trigger on the punishment a second time.

The NCAA has yet to make a decision on the projected 13 Hurricane players who have been ruled ineligible by the university, one of which is starting quarterback Jacory Harris (pictured above).

As more news comes out and the Miami's season opener approaches, join Bleacher Report for the latest.

Patrick Clarke is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow on Twitter @_Pat_Clarke